I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post as this isn't exactly your classic horse conformation critique. I see the phrase "back at the knee" used quite frequently in conformation critiques on here and I'm not sure exactly what that means. I tried to search it on google, and I get some pretty descriptive pictures, but most were very exaggerated. I understand the theory of the phrase, but then I'll see a photo of an actual horse that someone says is back at the knee, and I don't really see it. A few months ago, someone on the forum told me my mare Lilly was back at the knee. I've included some pictures of her below. What are the indicators that you look for to determine this? Would you consider this to be a serious conformation fault? What are the possible negative effects for a horse that is back at the knee? Also, in these pictures, Lilly's feet are not the best; she missed her regular farrier appointment due to a serious abscess that prevented her from bearing weight on her front left. Could just not having her feet trimmed cause her to go back on the knee?

I know I ask a bajillion questions, so I appreciate everyone's time and input on here! I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Thanks for the link. I saw that before and I've been trying to reproduce what they have there, but I'm not great at that kind of thing... I'm not really sure if I have my line in the right spot. I've tried to replicate where they have their line, but it's tough to tell from a drawing to an actual picture. This is what I have, does that look correct? It's her leg, and a picture of a "back at the knee" leg... I don't know if I've really captured it though or have my line in the right spot because I don't see a similarity between the two.

Get her standing square and get a better pic. In the first one she doesn't look back at the knee to me but in the last two she does. You should be a me to figure it out without the lines. She'll look like she's leaning back on her front legs when she's standing straight.Posted via Mobile Device

Hm. That first one is the squarest picture I have. I have these two from the other side, but they're probably not much better. I have some pictures of her on a memory stick at work, so I'll see if I can dig up anything better tomorrow. I see how you mean, looking at the drawing it would look like they're leaning back. I might see that slightly in her in the last picture, but it also looks like she's standing on a slight incline. As soon as I have better pictures, I'll post them. Are there any serious effects from being back at the knee? I would think it's hard on the tendons, but is there anything else to be watchful for? Do horses that are back at the knee commonly develop any soundness issues?

She's registered as Pinto breeding stock with CPtHA. On paper she is a Pinto, however, for this purpose I didn't think that would be altogether useful which is why I included her sire & dam's breeds as well.

EDIT: My original post was meant to only clarify what she was registered as, which is why I said technically. Typing too fast and not thinking. :)

Ok, so I tried moving the line a little forward on my "Pinto" mare; I'm going to be making fun of myself for that one for a while. I know I shouldn't need to draw a line, I'm just trying to understand the shape/angle I would be looking for so hopefully, someday, I can actually spot this without using MS Paint. I apologize for my rudimentary artwork here; I tried to get both sides of her in this time. I can see she looks like she could be a little back at the knee from the perspective that her knee falls behind the line, but the sample picture provided has the line intersecting with the fetlock which hers doesn't even come close. So maybe slightly back at the knee? I'm sorry if I seem completely stupid here, but I'm really just trying to gain some clarity and knowledge around this. Maybe one day, I'll be giving out the critiques instead of constantly asking questions. Also, like I mentioned above, I'll try to see if I have any better photos of her tomorrow or, failing that, see if I can take some better ones in a few days - although, it being winter with deep snow and indoor lighting not the best, I'm not sure how successful I'll be.

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